STROUD'S FLYING SAUCER: A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

Once Upon A Time...

Gayle Janine, shared that her great uncle created the "Flying Saucer" and yard installation that once caught so many eyes along Route 66.   Vernon (Craig) M. McGuire, did not apparently intend to build an alien themed craft back in 1994 when a friend gave him an eight-foot satellite dish. 

He had planned on making an umbrella top for a table until another friend gave him another dish, thus he wound up having two identical dishes. At that point the creation of The Flying Saucer was born.

Pulling together a wide variety of bits and pieces the final product slowly emerged. The top half to the saucer consists of commercial dryer door, pool filter, small satellite dish, UHF antenna, and over 100 platinum coated aluminum hard drive disks.

STROUD FLYING SAUCER, is located at 920 W. 4th St., in Stroud, Oklahoma. It was planted under a tree that have grown up to embrace and hide the craft.  Desire is strong to restore it but when that might happen is unclear due to many circumstances. 

When local author Marilyn A. Hudson *, moved to Stroud she was intrigued. She had just published the first of a series of books on UFO's and Oklahoma.   "As I continued to research, I uncovered so many stories from here in Oklahoma about reports of people seeing odd things in the skies. Image my delight when I found some from Stroud and then saw the "UFO" sign!"

Despite the reports found in the Air Force's Project Blue Book, the files of the Mutual UFO Network, and several books, McGuire's inspiration was not a local event. It was apparently just the collision of the right materials and a creative mind. 

Some, of course, were not above playing to the crowd on the topic of
"flying saucers."  Terri McCall, said, "I'll never forget the time some guys from another country were asking Donnie McCall and Eddie Ferguson about the UFO. These two came up with a story like no one would believe!  If you knew these two you could only imagine! So, somewhere in a foreign Country there is a document of this story.  I was laughing so hard I had to slide down the seat so they wouldn't see me. Don and Eddie kept a straight face the whole time."

 For many years posts about travels along Route 66 in Oklahoma included images of the "UFO" sign pointing to the back yard where the saucer resided. A flyer or booklet is believed to have been given out at one time but no copies of this have yet been found. If found, give a copy to the history collection at the local public library in Stroud. 

Melanie Cole Williams added, Craig McGuire took great pride in designing and maintaining that. He was a great human!

For many the fun lure of the unknown made the hand-painted sign and the back yard art installation a fun stop along the Mainstreet of America, Route 66. Maybe, just maybe, the strangers on the silver craft can made a new appearance to the delight of all.

 (Thanks to the owners of the photos for their permission to use in this story).

*- See Sooner Saucers, vol 2; UFOs Over Oklahoma: Guide to Route 66 (on Amazon)